The default mode network: where the idiosyncratic self meets the shared social world
Yaara Yeshurun, Mai Nguyen, Uri Hasson
Nature Reviews Neuroscience January 22, 2021 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-020-00420-w (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Citations | 701 |
| Key points | Proposes that the default mode network integrates extrinsic and intrinsic information over long timescales to create context-dependent models of situations, enabling shared meaning and social cohesion. |
Abstract
The default mode network (DMN) is classically considered an 'intrinsic' system, specializing in internally oriented cognitive processes such as daydreaming, reminiscing and future planning. In this Perspective, we suggest that the DMN is an active and dynamic 'sense-making' network that integrates incoming extrinsic information with prior intrinsic information to form rich, context-dependent models of situations as they unfold over time. We review studies that relied on naturalistic stimuli, such as stories and movies, to demonstrate how an individual's DMN neural responses are influenced both by external information accumulated as events unfold over time and by the individual's idiosyncratic past memories and knowledge. The integration of extrinsic and intrinsic information over long timescales provides a space for negotiating a shared neural code, which is necessary for establishing shared meaning, shared communication tools, shared narratives and, above all, shared communities and social networks.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on default mode network, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The default mode network in cognition: a topographical perspective | 2021 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The default-mode, ego-functions and free-energy: a neurobiological account of Freudian ideas | 2010 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Cooperation between the default mode network and the frontal–parietal network in the production of an internal train of thought | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Mechanisms of Psychedelic Visionary Experiences: Hypotheses from Evolutionary Psychology | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 70
- 20 years of the default mode network: A review and synthesis Neuron May 10, 2023
- Default Mode Network Modulation by Psychedelics: A Systematic Review The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology October 21, 2022
- Receptor-informed network control theory links LSD and psilocybin to a flattening of the brain's control energy landscape. Nature Communications October 3, 2022
- Temporo-spatial Theory of Consciousness (TTC) - Bridging the gap of neuronal activity and phenomenal states. Behavioural Brain Research February 1, 2022
- The architecture of the human default mode network explored through cytoarchitecture, wiring and signal flow Nature Neuroscience January 28, 2025
and 65 more in the library
Cites 15
- A default mode of brain function Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 16, 2001
- The Brain's Default Mode Network Annual Review of Neuroscience May 4, 2015
- Resting-State Functional Connectivity Reflects Structural Connectivity in the Default Mode Network Cerebral Cortex April 9, 2008
- On the relationship between the “default mode network” and the “social brain” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
- The wandering brain: Meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging studies of mind-wandering and related spontaneous thought processes Neuroimage February 25, 2015
and 10 more in the library